Biweekly Game Based Learning in English 101 

Research Question: 

What is the effect of holding biweekly game-based learning activities in English 101 and what can these activities tell us about the comprehension levels and preferred learning methods of collegiate students?  

Scholarly Discourse in Writing Studies:

Game Based Learning has recently made a come-back in academics. It was only in the past decade or so that Game Based Learning activities have grown increasingly popular in the classroom and have been proven to increase participation and reach new levels of learning. There are a few practical reasons for this: the advancement of technology and its incorporation in the classroom, the strive to incorporate more active rather than passive learning, teacher preference, student preference, and lastly, GBL has grown popular simply because it is fun. 

So, what constitutes a “game?” According to Tamara Meredith in her essay, “Game-Based Learning in Professional Development for Practicing Educators” she states: “To gather the widest possible swath of research, the definition of game used for this review included simulations, serious/educational games, and/or games typically used for entertainment but repurposed for education” (1). A “Game” can thus be categorized as a type of activity with incentive, whether this be a prize or extra point, these GBL activities are typically interactive, often team-based, and provide your students with an incentive to perform well. These games can be played with cards, standard classroom materials, board games, computers and other websites/apps, etc. The beauty of GBL lies in its versatility and flexibility.  

So why encourage gambe-based learning? In Jennifer Groff’s essay titled “The Potentials of Game‐based Environments for Integrated, Immersive Learning Data,” she writes about this recent GBL trend: “Many of the original learning games were criticized for their poor design and were dubbed ‘edutainment’ because they only attempted to leverage a behaviorist model of learning: complete the task and receive a reward. However, considerable advances have been made in learning theory and in our understanding of how we learn that have helped to transform the design of learning games into more robust, constructivist environments” (188). Groff writes of the wide availability of games, and the variety of ways by which they can be implemented into the classroom, claiming that the desired outcomes of GBL activities is to provide your students with a new and more comprehensive level of learning, and that GBL activities can create a robust and constructivist environment through friendly competition and incentives. GBL adds a layer of community to the classroom while team competition allows students to meet new people and participate collectively. If we know how to approach GBL activities, and how to ensure that these education games are in fact academic, we can provide our students with active and engaged learning, but more so, we can provide them with a fun and hospitable class ecosystem.  

A huge influencer of GBL activities is technology. It isn’t surprising to see so many scholars recognizing the great impact that technology has had on GBL. In the article, “Advancements and Trends in Digital Game-Based Learning Research” author Hwang writes that, “Educational computer games have great potential for helping students to improve their learning performance as well as their learning motivation” (1). This article focused largely on the claim that technology can be utilized to create effective and engaging game-based learning activities and lessons. Additionally, Zhi-Hong in his article “Using Narrative-Based Contextual Games to Enhance Language Learning” also mentions how “digital games have been identified as having the potential to enhance language learning” (1). Technology influenced games have proven to be both appealing and productive to students when learning new languages, incentivizing me to use GBL activities as I teach my students new forms of literacy in English 101.  

Game-Based learning is not new in academia, but I think it can be implemented skillfully and efficiently into my English 101 curriculum to provide a more holistic, comprehensive, and fun method of learning. This pedagogical research design also allows me to force student interactions and dialogical learning. I’ve noticed that this quarter my students don’t really branch out and talk to their classmates beyond when required, and I’d like to create a more inclusive class ecosystem- GBL can be extremely useful for this!  

Practical Methods in Conducting this Research:

In order to carry out this study I need to alter the course curriculum to implement a game into Friday’s lab day, every other week. This requires me to adapt the lesson originally intended for that day into a game-based learning activity or requires me to arrange time for a “review” type of game based on the previous 2 weeks’ lessons. I’ve created a basic run-down of my schedule for next quarter and have come up with 5 plausible and fun games.  

For the first and last game (Weeks 1 and 9), I’ll be creating a multiple choice, trivia centered game with Kahoot, which is a free educational tool website. Kahoot allows me to come up with questions and multiple-choice answers that will be displayed on the big screen, and students submit their answers to the questions using their phone, tablet, or computer. A particularly cool aspect of Kahoot is that students are able to create a silly nickname when they play, and when they get answers right their nickname is displayed on a big chart after the answer for each question is revealed. Kahoot quite literally rewards students for answering questions correctly by showcasing names. Week 1 Kahoot will consist of English 101 overview (syllabus stuff, projects, extension projects, grading contracts, class rules, etc.), while Week 9 Kahoot will be an overview of English 101 as a whole.  

For the Week 3 Game we’ll be playing Class Jeopardy, with teams of 4-5 students asking questions about Project 1 Narratives, CRAP elements, Genre, Medium, and forms of Literacy. During Week 5 the game will be focused on writing good research questions. Students in groups of 4-5 will be given three random words and a few minutes to create the best research question from those random words/topics. A point system will be used in this game for incentive as well. Lastly, the game for Week 7 will be about creating practice posters. Each team of 4-5 students will be given poster paper or a chalkboard, and a silly topic, and will have to create a holistic and comprehensive poster about pizza or dog memes, or another funny topic. The class will then judge each poster with a scale of 1-10 to decide the winning poster. All of these games, from Kahoot, to Jeopardy, to research-question writing and poster practice, are all going to provide my students with a fun and interactive understanding of the course curriculum.  

In order to measure that these GBL activities are actually productive, helpful, and useful to my students I will have them complete a “Feedback Freewrite” form on how the game went. This feedback form has been attached in the appendix and will provide me with both quantitative and qualitative data on if they game was liked, difficult, went smoothly, etc. Alongside these forms, which will be read thoroughly by myself, I plan on informally interviewing my students during midterm conferences to see if they feel the games are going well. An optional extension project will also be given allowing students to create their own GBL activity for English 101, this EP asks them to create a game, write the rules and objective of the game, and to conduct a short freewrite on the genre of rule-writing.  

Essentially, this pedagogical research design will be conducted quite simply: games will be played biweekly on Friday’s, Feedback Freewrites will be passed out and given immediately following each game, informal interviews will be used during midterm conferences to check-in with students individually (and in-person) about the GBL activities, and an optional extension project will be added that reflects the GBL that will be emphasized from this study. I will also administer a “How Do You Learn Best” worksheet (included in the appendix) on the first day of class to ensure that I don’t have any (or numerous) students who find GBL activities to be unhelpful, distracting, pointless, or otherwise distasteful. If more than 4 students express a strong dislike of GBL, I might have to postpone the entire Research Design until Spring quarter- but I sincerely hope this isn’t the case. According to Huang’s article on “Improving Moral Reasoning among College Students: A Game-Based Learning Approach” game-based learning is unique because: “It can effectively motivate learners to participate in the learning process.” (587). I hope to encourage my students to participate in learning the English 101 curriculum through games.  

English 101 Weekly Schedule: 

Week 1 (Jan 9-11):  

1. No Class
2. Welcome, ENG 101 expectations, Syllabus, Class Rules, etc.
3. Kahoot Game: How well do you know this class? A review of Wednesday’s materials.

Week 2 (Jan 14-18): 

1. What is a Literacy Narrative
2. Project 1 Workshop
3. Project 1 Due

Week 3 (Jan 21-25):  

1. No Class
2. CRAP Elements and Design as Literacy
3. Team Jeopardy Game: All about Narratives, CRAP, Genre, Medium, and ENG 101 rules, to be played in teams of 4-5.

Week 4 (Jan 28-Feb 1): 

1. Project 2 Workshop
2. Project 2 Due
3. Project 3 Due

Week 5 (Feb 4-8):  

1. Writing Good Research Questions
2. Research Design expectations and worktime
3. Team Game: Random Research Question Generator- Example: use the words “pizza” “study” and “college” to create a research question.

Week 6 (Feb 11-15): 

1. Project 4 Workshop
2. Genre talk on field notes
3. Project 4 Due

Week 7 (Feb 18-22): 

1. No Class
2. Project 5 Due
3. Partner Poster Creation Practice Game: Best Poster Wins- Example: using the topic “Memes about Cats” create a poster that is engaging, informative, and aesthetically appealing.

Week 8 (Feb 25-Mar 1): 

1. Project 6 Workshop
2. General Poster Evaluations, Formatting, Etc.
3. Project 6 Check-in with Me and Worktime

Week 9 (Mar 4-8): 

1. Overview of Projects 7 and 8
2. Project 6 Due
3. Kahoot Game: Let’s Review English 101 Material/Lessons

Week 10 (Mar 11-15) 

1. Project 8 Due
2. Project 7 Due
3. Conferences

Week 11 (Mar 18-22): 

Finals Week: No Final 

Spring Break March 23-April 1 

 

Appendix and Works Cited:

Feedback Freewrite Form: https://wwu2-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/bibeaus_wwu_edu/ER4XGcAJROZLhSWKADxFRykBgqUq6YXKjjMhqAaeGn0mtg?e=bXNnPG 

Optional GBL Extension Project: https://wwu2-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/bibeaus_wwu_edu/Ee1Ise8h1PpFh8FuP6gZZQsBfC2T6jrs3pfdDMjte46lUg?e=h3qVoN 

New Assignment to Accompany my Study- This Worksheet will be filled out in class on the first day, students will be encouraged to complete this assignment with a partner so they can talk through their ideas, this assignment will allow me to gage their learning preferences: 

How Do You Learn Best Worksheet: https://wwu2-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/bibeaus_wwu_edu/EYYRGgK1SQBHuGRYHE3nor8BSRkFJ038y-cHg4oTAmYeGw?e=dKfaVU  

 

Works Cited:  

Groff, Jennifer S. “The Potentials of Game‐based Environments for Integrated, Immersive Learning Data.” European Journal of Education, vol. 53, no. 2, June 2018, pp. 188–201. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/ejed.12270. 

Huang, Wenyeh, and Jonathan C. Ho. “Improving Moral Reasoning among College Students: A Game-Based Learning Approach.” Interactive Learning Environments, vol. 26, no. 5, Aug. 2018, pp. 583–596. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10494820.2017.1374979. 

Hwang, Gwo-Jen, and Po-Han Wu. “Advancements and Trends in Digital Game-Based Learning Research: A Review of Publications in Selected Journals from 2001 to 2010.” British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 43, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. E6–E10. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01242.x. 

Meredith, Tamara. “Game-Based Learning in Professional Development for Practicing Educators: A Review of the Literature.” TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, vol. 60, no. 5, Sept. 2016, pp. 496–502. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11528-016-0107-7. 

Zhi-Hong Chen, et al. “Using Narrative-Based Contextual Games to Enhance Language Learning: A Case Study.” Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 21, no. 3, July 2018, pp. 186–198. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?